Dialogue and engagement
This week, I had on two occasions, met with civil society and government partners. One event was the gathering last Wednesday at the office of Cebu City Councilor Alvin Dizon.
It was a cheerful afternoon with Councilor Dizon, whom we consider in civil society as one among us. He understands the language of civil society, and amid the world of local realpolitik, he has steadfastly anchored his priorities in the fields of inclusive development and human rights.
We are happy to see Councilor Dizon back in the City Council. And I heard from sources that the feeling is bipartisan – knowing the quality of resolutions and ordinances he had introduced during his previous terms (along with his fellow BOPK councilors Nida Cabrera and Nestor Archival) which had raised the profile of the legislative body and its core values.
Although the occasion was lighthearted, Councilor Dizon took the opportunity to inform us about his priority legislation and general thrust for the next three years. He also asked for our inputs, and we promised to continue to engage constructively with him and help him accomplish his mandate. We know that we are only one among the many voices Councilor Dizon has to listen to, and we appreciate him for always reaching out.
The second occasion was yesterday morning during the multi-sectoral dialogue at Books and Brews Café on the topic “Global to Local, Local to Global: Cebu’s Sustainable Development Goals Landscape.” This time I had the chance to meet and share a table with San Francisco Mayor Alfredo “Al” Arquillano. We know each other way back from our previous work together with the Cebu chapter of the Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE-Cebu).
I heard from Mayor Al that his town of San Francisco in Camotes Island has a program named “Pagkain Ko, Tinanim Ko.” The program is inspired by a quote from Los Angeles fashion designer and urban gardening proponent Ron Finley: “Growing your own food is like printing your own money.” I wish to revisit Camotes soon and know more about this program.
If we look a bit further up and down, and out of our respective groups and affiliations, there is a lot to learn from each other’s beautiful initiatives and experiences. There are those we hear and see in mass media and social media that inspire us, but those that we engage with are the ones that lead to concrete partnerships and actions.
The dialogue yesterday was initiated by Cebu-based civil society organizations RCE-Cebu, the Project Drawdown PH, RESUBGONET, the Collaboration for Development and Humanitarian Action, and the Dream Big youth organization, in partnership with Books and Brews Café. It was facilitated by Cordaid Philippines’ coordinator for Cebu projects Christopher Estallo and RCE-Cebu’s Dr. Cherry Ballescas.
These groups envision the creation of local dialogue networks that promote social cohesion, trust, and cooperation among several sectors. They believe that unified and mainstream transformation of society starts with exploring what people and groups have done and plan to do toward sustainable and resilient development.
The emergence of new and younger leaders in local governments and their impressive actions in the past weeks in the areas of sustainable and resilient development have given the public a reason to hope. Among these young LGU leaders are Mayor Isko Moreno on fixing Manila’s public spaces and use of renewable energy in public schools, Mayor Vico Sotto on protecting striking workers’ rights in Pasig City, and here in Cebu, Talisay City Mayor Samsam Gullas on quick and concrete actions to ease the problems on traffic and flooding.
But in his Twitter account, Senator Panfilo Lacson wrote a cautious word or two about the much-publicized achievements of Mayor Isko, and which might as well apply to other new LGU heads: “Let’s pray that he will not be eaten by the system that consumed many others before him.”
Thus, before public officials become entranced by their authority and power, it is best to remember that in the age of information, globalization, and climate change, no single power or authority can do things with far-reaching positive consequences. Even the best leaders, while they impress us on some occasions, cannot succeed if the system is bound to fail in the first place. No single entity now has a near-monopoly of innovative ideas and, consequently, power.
We should all learn to reach out and engage with our constituencies, civil society, and other groups of people.
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